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Just another WordPress siteFri, 31 Jul 2015 23:29:11 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1Superhero Fiction for Grown Upshttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/06/superhero-fiction-for-grown-ups/
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/06/superhero-fiction-for-grown-ups/#commentsTue, 02 Jun 2015 19:28:42 +0000Mollyhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/?p=36509If you visited the library over the weekend or yesterday, you might have noticed lots of superheroes wandering the stacks! This year, our summer reading theme is Every Hero Has a Story, so we’ve got lots of fun programs for kids and teens about superheroes, and of course, lots of superhero fiction for them to check out.

But what about adults?

Here are seven superhero novels written for grown ups! They run the gamut from fun and campy to more literary and thought-provoking.

Jacqueline Carey is perhaps best known for her Kushiel’s Legacy novels, a sexy high fantasy series. But Santa Olivia is set in our world. Carey has a unique take on superhero and werewolf myths, and it still features her signature lush prose and vivid characters. Loup, the daughter of a “Wolf-Man” genetically engineered by the US government, has grown up an outsider in Santa Olivia, a military town on the Texas-Mexico border, until she forms a vigilante group with fellow orphans and seeks to redress the injustices the military have perpetrated against the locals. Dressing in costume as the patron saint of the town, she brings hope to her community. This fast-paced yet intricately plotted superhero story is a perfect summer read.

For those looking for a superhero story that borders on parody, there’s Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman. It stars Doctor Impossible, an evil genius who is dead set on world domination (as most evil geniuses are). He’s tried everything conceivable, and always failed, but he’s sure his latest plot will succeed. What he doesn’t anticipate is Fatale and her band of superhero misfits intent on taking him down. Fantastical and fun, this is for readers looking for light summer fare.

Readers looking for fast-paced and suspenseful superhero stories should look no further than Vicious by V. E. Schwab. Victor and Eli, two brilliant friends, discover how to give themselves superpowers. Victor ended up in jail and Eli went to work with the police, but Victor knows that Eli is the real villain. Even if Victor isn’t a particularly good guy, he knows Eli must be stopped. This novel will appeal to die-hard superhero fans as well as readers who just like a good story of betrayal and redemption.

In After the Golden Age, Carrie Vaughn delivers an homage to the superhero genre. Forensic accountant Celia West is the daughter of two great heroes, Captain Olympus and Spark, but lacks powers herself. When the city prosecutes the villain Destructor for tax evasion, Celia is tapped to gather evidence, but her investigation uncovers long-buried secrets about her family and the city. The story is layered with darkness but with dashes of humor thrown in. The characters are believable rather than stereotypes. While plot-driven, the novel still manages to be a moving story about family relationships.

Prepare to Die! by by Paul Tobin will definitely appeal to comic book fans, as Tobin is a veteran comics writer. This is the story of Steve Clarke, whose superhuman punches can take years off the life of his foes. But when his nemesis informs him he only has weeks to live, he returns to his hometown and reflects on his relationships and regrets. Tobin balances action with contemplation in this fun story that promises a tale of superheroes, sex, and secret origins.

Fans of Southern Gothic fiction don’t have to miss out on the superhero action. Devil’s Capeby Rob Rogers is set just outside New Orleans and blends traditional crime fiction with supernatural superheroes. Dark and gritty, this is a different kind of superhero story — one with pirates and carnival freaks, too.

Even readers who prefer books with a literary bent can enjoy superheroes. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, which won the Pulitzer Prize, is about an escape artist who teams up with his cousin to write comics just as they’re becoming popular in the late 1930s. Chabon’s writing is engaging and witty, and the adventures are truly amazing.

Every hero has a story, and each of these is a unique take on a the superhero genre.

– Molly, Collection Development

]]>http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/06/superhero-fiction-for-grown-ups/feed/4Once upon a time there was a drummer, and his name was Oskar…http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/05/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-drummer-and-his-name-was-oskar/
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/05/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-drummer-and-his-name-was-oskar/#commentsFri, 08 May 2015 17:55:01 +0000Kate Gramlichhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/?p=36055If I was forced to name a favorite fictional character, it would have to be Oskar Matzerath from German writer Gunter Grass’ 1959 novel The Tin Drum. It’s been several years since I read that outlandish and sprawling World War II era satire, and many of the finer details have been lost to memory, but I have never been able to forget about little Oskar who is, easily, the most radical and subversive figure I have ever encountered. After all, could there be a greater act of defiance than to purposefully throw oneself down the cellar stairs, as a three-year old Oskar does, permanently stunting his growth for the sole purpose of avoiding entrance into the grownup world? Oskar, who claims to have been fully mentally developed at birth, can already see the trappings of the adult life and he chooses to opt out. And with perfect timing too. This bold decision will leave him nearly invisible to the majority of the adults in his home city of Danzig, as they’re slowly being seduced by Hitler and the Third Reich.

Following this defining act, Oskar will continue to appear as a child even as he develops a deep inner life, embracing both the sensibilities of Goethe and Rasputin, all while continually allowing those around him to underestimate him. That isn’t to say he is meek and helpless – he has his weapons. A tin drum promised by his mother at birth, will become the first of several. More than a toy, more than a musical instrument, with his drum Oskar is able to distract and redirect the world around him (as he does at a Hitler youth rally when he covertly manages to hijack a march by turning it into a waltz!). The drum also serves as something of a divining rod available only to Oskar, who’s able to bang out and receive vague communications from the ether. Even more potent is his voice; capable of achieving frequencies so high that he can shatter glass at will whether from the windows of the buildings stories above, or the eye-glasses on the face of an unsuspecting grade-school teacher who dares to confiscate his beloved drum.

Many readers will accuse poor Oskar of being an unreliable narrator. And the reality that Oskar, now aged thirty, is relaying the entire story – with its eccentric characters and unbelievable events all set to the back drop of the war – from within the walls of a mental institution doesn’t add much to his credibility. And, after all, one cannot just decide not to physically grow anymore… can they? But the way Oskar confides the details of his life makes the reader want to believe him. And if he is unreliable, then at least he is unafraid to paint himself in a negative light, revealing his arrogance and megalomania. A sweet peter pan he is not.

Immediately following publication, The Tin Drum had both its share of offended detractors and inspired followers. Over the years, its reputation continued to grow internationally following the award winning 1979 film, a rare example of a literary adaptation worthy of its source, with the majority of the credit due to the impeccable casting of the 12 year old actor who portrays Oskar. Grass, who recently passed away at age 87, went on to win the Pulitzer Prize, and was often referred to as being the “conscience of Germany” for his dedication towards asking difficult questions regarding the role of the German people during the reign of the Third Reich. Unfortunately his reputation was permanently damaged nine years ago when he belatedly revealed in a memoir that a childhood stint serving in the Hitler youth actually extended into a year serving in the secret service during the final year of the war. It turned out that, much like Oskar, Grass too was an unreliable narrator. As disappointing as his revelation was, it speaks to the nature of guilt and shame that the German people have had to grapple with in the wake of the Third Reich. Even nearly half a century following its publication, yet another layer of complexity and controversy is added to the legacy of The Tin Drum.

Gunter Grass may be gone, and his reputation tarnished, but nothing could alter my affection little Oskar and his ability to adapt and survive. I’ve yet to be as captivated by another character. And I doubt that I ever will.

– Blake, Readers’ Services

]]>http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/05/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-drummer-and-his-name-was-oskar/feed/0Six Degrees of Victor Frankenstein, or, How a Volcano Launched Science Fictionhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/03/six-degrees-of-victor-frankenstein-or-how-a-volcano-launched-science-fiction/
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/03/six-degrees-of-victor-frankenstein-or-how-a-volcano-launched-science-fiction/#commentsFri, 20 Mar 2015 17:08:18 +0000Kate Gramlichhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/?p=34687You’ve probably heard that an Italian doctor is predicting the imminent re-attachment of severed heads to bodies. With the steady improvements in medical science and prosthetics technology, it’s not too surprising. Nor is it too surprising that there’s another Hollywood remake of Frankensteinin the works, this one told from the perspective of Igor — who didn’t even appear in Mary Shelley’s famous book. It is a little surprising that Igor will be played by the man forever to be known as a young wizard with a lightning bolt on his forehead.

Frankly, I’d rather see Marty Feldman re-animated.

As it happened, I was reading the original Frankenstein when author Margaret Atwood came to town for the Read Across Lawrence celebrations. As she talked about the difference between science fiction and speculative fiction, describing A Handmaid’s Taleas speculative fiction, I of course recognized Mary Shelley as her 19th-century counterpart, crafting the first work of science fiction in the midst of a time of electrifying scientific change, what Richard Holmes calls The Age of Wonder. His engaging book by that title is subtitled, “How the Romantic Generation discovered the beauty and terror of science.”

The story of the writing of Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus is indeed romantic, young Mary eloping with Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and an Italian doctor to Lake Geneva, where wet weather forced them indoors. (Fun fact: the weather was the result of Mt. Tambora erupting in Indonesia.) Being romantic poets, they read Gothic horror stories to each other. Byron then suggested a competition, where each was to come up with his or her own scary story. We know who won.

More of the human interest part of the Frankenstein backstory is fleshed out, as it were, in Roseanne Montillo’s fascinating but gossipy The Lady and her Monsters. Holmes devotes an entire section of The Age of Wonder to the scientific discoveries happening at the time, shocking experiments by Luigi Galvani, Joseph Priestley, Humphry Davy, and Ben Franklin (remember Igor – “Eye-gore” — in the thunderstorm, tying his kite to the Tesla coils in Young Frankenstein?). The Shelleys were aware of this new knowledge, and knew some of the scientists (then called natural philosophers) personally. Yet surprisingly little science is elucidated in Shelley’s Frankenstein. The laboratory and its elaborate machines, the lab assistant Igor (or Fritz, in the classic 1931 movie) and his clumsy brain robbing, the dramatic “birth” of the creature — all that came later, on the stage and the silver screen. The movies also took away the voice that Mary Shelley gave the creature, making its transition to a monster that much easier.

This is a good place to point out that the movie that gave us the flat-topped, bolt-necked monster that we all know and love can be found in a new section in the library’s DVD collection: Horror!

Digesting all of the connections made by Montillo and Holmes, I was reminded of an excellent old BBC series called, appropriately, Connections, hosted by James Burke. More oriented to inventions and engineering than science and literature, it’s worth watching to see how Burke stitches a coherent whole together from many pieces, moving from, for example, the Little Ice Age to seaplanes, or from plows to B-52s.

This is how science often works, a curious person standing on the shoulders of giants, as Isaac Newton said and as Mary Shelley herself made clear in her story. More and more, popular culture is part of the mix: right after I finished Frankenstein, Lapham’s Quarterly grafted the 21st century upon the 19th, and posted the following chart, tracing connections from Mary Shelley’s feminist mother to, you guessed it, Kevin Bacon:

]]>http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/03/six-degrees-of-victor-frankenstein-or-how-a-volcano-launched-science-fiction/feed/0Like, Try, Why: Sue Monk Kiddhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/03/like-try-why-sue-monk-kidd/
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2015/03/like-try-why-sue-monk-kidd/#commentsFri, 06 Mar 2015 20:03:00 +0000Kate Gramlichhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/?p=34514If you’re looking for lyrical, female-focused literary fiction, Sue Monk Kidd is a great go-to choice. Her most famous novel, The Secret Life of Bees, was later adapted into a film starring Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, and Dakota Fanning. I fell in love with this book in high school and have read it several times since. Her 2014 release, The Invention of Wings quickly became a favorite of mine for the year, and I wanted to put together a few suggestions for other fans of Sue Monk Kidd. Take a look below!

Fans of The Invention of Wings may enjoy The Wedding Gift, another historical novel featuring interweaving narratives from both slaves and slave owners. These emotional journeys detail contrasting womens’ experiences in pre-Civil War era America.

Both narrators, Secret Life’s Lily and Dry Grass’s Jubie, are young white teenage girls witnessing harrowing racism in the South through relationships with influential black women in their lives.

Feeling unsure and out of place, I ventured up the steps to Lawrence’s local comic shop, Astro Kitty, to buy Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8. As a longtime devotee of Joss Whedon’s TV show, I was thrilled when I learned it was going to continue in comic form, even if I didn’t have any experience with the format and had grown up thinking that it was just superhero stories that were really meant for boys who didn’t like to read (oh, how naive my younger self was).

Joel, the friendly proprietor, could probably tell I was a comic newbie, and patiently explained how a “pull list” worked, and that although he had sold out of the first issue already, he’d order another copy for me — both covers, as I requested when given the option — and he’d hold each new edition for me.

That was now I got into comics and discovered that there were all types of stories being told in illustrated panels — even stories written by and about women and girls. There are a wide variety of styles and voices in the graphic novel stacks here at LPL, with characters from all walks of life going on fantastic adventures or coping with everyday struggles.

If, like me, you grew up thinking there was nothing for a feminist woman to enjoy in comics or graphic novels, here are a few of my recent favorites you might want to check out.

My two favorite graphic novels released this year feature horror stories and dreamy artwork. The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff is ultimately about the tension between modern China and it’s old traditions. The moody art complements this delightfully morbid story is inspired by a 2007 Economist article about the practice of finding corpse brides for unmarried men who die young. Deshi has been charged with the task of finding a bride for his late brother. When he can’t find a corpse fresh enough to honor his brother, he considers what he might do to create one. When he meets Lily, who is running away from her home and strict father, he gets more than he bargained for. Through the Woods: Stories by Emily Carroll is equally horrific and enchanting. These short stories are eerily haunting and beautifully illustrated in bright blues and reds against an inky black.

If superheroes are your thing, there are some female-friendly titles out there that are about more than token female superheroes in ridiculously and impractical spandex. The reboot of Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson follows a regular Muslim teenager living in Jersey City coping with her new superpowers and taking selfies with Wolverine. Batwoman: Elegy may be written and illustrated by men (Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III), but manages to be as much about Kate Kane’s identity as a woman as her superhero alter-ego.

If none of these have sparked your interest, you should definitely check out Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and illustrated by Fiona Staples. This is the tale of star-crossed lovers set against a never-ending galactic war. Marko and Alana didn’t mean to fall in love or have a baby, but now that they have, they must face alien assassins and more in order to keep their new family safe. Not only does Fiona Staples bring these characters to life with her fantastic illustrations, Brian K. Vaughn’s witty dialogue perfectly balances the larger issues of love and war. Bonus: there is a talking cat who can tell if you’re lying.

These are just a sampling of the wide variety of graphic novels about and by women available at the library There really is something for every type of reader, even if you think that graphc novels aren’t your thing. If you’re interested in my titles, I keep a list in Bibliocommons of my favorites!

Growing up in Southern California, every Thanksgiving one of the Rock and Roll stations would always play all 23 minutes of Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant. I always enjoyed the satire and humor, as well as the powerful message of the song. I heard it the other day and realized how appropriate it is to listen to around Thanksgiving. When the song was originally released, peace was actually a popular sentiment. Now war is viewed as inevitable, unavoidable and even necessary. I can’t count how many times, especially during November, I have heard about the “price of freedom.” When I listened to Alice’s Restaurant, it reminded me how seldom we hear about the “cost of war.” For millions there has never been and never will be a Thanksgiving holiday. Wars and endless conflicts have condemned them to a lifetime of fear, violence and constant displacement. I wonder how often gamers think about that as they play the latest version of their PlayStation war game.

As you listen to the CD, it might be worth reflecting on how the absence of war in our country has allowed us to argue about issues such as marriage and insurance, while others spend another year in refugee camps. If you have never heard the song we have a copy at the library, I invite you this holiday to “walk right in, it’s around the back just a half a mile from the railroad track.

]]>http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/11/jes-walk-right-in/feed/1Documentaries We Lovehttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/11/documentaries-we-love/
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/11/documentaries-we-love/#commentsMon, 17 Nov 2014 23:43:36 +0000Rachaelhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/?p=32303Released in 2013, Flex is Kings is a documentary following the lives of young African-American flex dancers over a two-year period. Flex, an undulating, free-style street-dance, originated in Brooklyn, New York and is centered around Battlefest, where dancers face off to find out who flexes best. The filmmakers do an incredible job using artistic camera shots and beautiful staging to capture the evocative, athletic nature of flex dancing. Focusing on the community of dancers and the struggles they face, the movie is an elegant reminder of the power of dance.

Flex is Kings briefly references another movie that most certainly inspired it: Paris is Burning. Set in the mid- to late-eighties, this documentary chronicles the voguing battles of New York City Drag Balls. The term “voguing” originated from the way these dancers would sashay down the aisle before freezing in flashy poses. The balls were a way to express and explore gender identity as well as create a sense of community in a city facing the AIDS epidemic. Paris is Burning is most certainly worth seeing, especially in conjunction with Flex is Kings.

Also set in New York City, Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace is a PBS documentary about an African American portrait painter whose work has lately launched him to fame. Wiley is known for his large scale oil paintings of African-American men in heroic poses reminiscent of Renaissance masterpieces. In the film Wiley and his team of assistants are beginning his first project featuring African-American women. What is striking about Wiley’s paintings, in addition to the gorgeous portraiture, are the extraordinary details in the backgrounds, curving leaflets and intricate wallpaper patterns. It may come as a surprise to fans of Wiley’s work that it is not Wiley who paints the backdrops, but rather a team of Chinese painters overseen by one of Wiley’s assistants. To see the artist sign his name to the back of the canvas, one can not help but remember all the others who helped make the painting a reality.

-Rachael Perry, Information Services

]]>http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/11/documentaries-we-love/feed/1Dictating Historyhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/11/dictating-history/
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/11/dictating-history/#commentsThu, 06 Nov 2014 19:54:38 +0000Mollyhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/?p=32155The stereotypical 20th century office secretary—taker of dictation, orderer of flowers for the boss’s wife, getter of coffee—was a silent participant in whatever glory or tragedy befell her employers. Such secretaries rarely found themselves subjects of historical interest, except perhaps in studies of the marginalization of women in the workplace, and characters like Mad Men’s Peggy Olson have portrayed the heartbreaking limitations of the job with an empowered twist hopefully more reflective of today’s female labor force. But in two of the best movies I’ve seen recently, real life secretaries quietly performing their duties became involved in the most momentous historic events of the last century.

Owing to the basic passivity of the job, fate often seems to do the hiring of secretaries, and none can be said to have found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time more than Adolf Hitler’s, a young woman named Traudl Junge. Her story informs and frames Downfall, a German movie nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2005, starring Alexandra Maria Lara opposite a Hitler portrayed by Bruno Ganz, who some may recall from The American Friend, Wim Winders now classic adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel Ripley’s Game.

As depicted in Downfall, the 22-year old Junge was literally picked at random out of a line of young women by Hitler in 1942 when he needed a new secretary, and she worked closely with him through the end of World War II, when, as one of her final duties, she typed his last will and testament. Most of Downfall is set in Hitler’s infamous Berlin bunker during the Third Reich’s death throes, as Russian troops fought the last, pathetic true believers block-by-block above. The film’s horrors are many, including an apocalyptic, mid-bombardment party of doomed Nazis, the suicide of Magda Goebbels after she and husband Joseph kill their own six children, and Hitler’s blame of the German people for their ultimate demise due to a failure of will.

While works like Schindler’s List and Band of Brothers have explored the suffering of those who experienced the genocide and combat of World War II, perhaps no movie I know of more closely examines the psychology of Nazi Germany than Downfall, presenting a picture of a nation taken over by a psychopathic cult. As its secretary, Junge is the ultimate bystander, whose participation in history’s greatest atrocity represents a moral ambiguity every German of the era must face. The film also does a service by including footage of the real Traudl Junge, who, interviewed late in life, stated that her wilful ignorance of Nazi realities should not be excused. For those interested in hearing more of Junge’s story firsthand, her earliest public interviews appear in the excellent 1974 British documentary series World at War.

Unlike Traudl Junge, Freda Kelly found herself in the right place at the right time, when, as a recent documentary about her life, Good Ol’ Freda reveals, she served as the Beatles’ secretary from their early days at the Cavern Club in Liverpool through their eventual breakup. Freda’s journey with the Beatles began when they were simply a local band with a small, but dedicated fan base, of which she was a devoted member. She volunteered to create the first Beatles fan club, naively directing correspondence to her own home address, but soon found herself hired as the band’s official secretary, dedicating long hours to an endless stream of mail, autograph requests, and paperwork. Witness to one of the great cultural events of the 20th century, she became something of an adopted daughter to Ringo’s mom, put a rude John Lennon in his place on more than one occasion, and may or may not have been romantically involved with band members. A dependable secretary to the end, she invokes her former employers’ right to privacy, and refuses requests for information about any of the Beatles’ personal lives—even as it may pertain to her—even now.

Like Traudl Junge, Freda’s sense of responsibility for her work remains oddly absent. Matters of taste aside, all can agree that unlike Hitler’s evil crusade, Freda’s cause—Beatles music—was a great gift to the world. Throughout the documentary, however, she repeatedly claims she is nothing special, and merely performed her professional duties as best she could. This lack of agency may be what makes Freda and Traudl so appealing, since their orientation to the events they witnessed reflects the same basic helplessness we feel in the face of history. But it is odd to hear Freda offer up the Nuremberg defense, and odder still to learn she shared Traudl Junge’s years of silence about her life. In the film’s most poignant moment Freda Kelly reveals she rarely discusses her Beatles work with anyone, and has done so now only for the sake of her grandchildren, and in homage to a son who was always curious, but who tragically died without ever hearing much about it. Perhaps it is simply the lot of secretaries in the classic mold to remain unsung as heroes or villains, at least until movies like these are made, which finally tell the stories of those who did big things in a quiet way.

– Dan Coleman, Collection Development

]]>http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/11/dictating-history/feed/1Halloween Reads: Horrorstörhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/10/halloween-reads-horrorstor/
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/10/halloween-reads-horrorstor/#commentsMon, 27 Oct 2014 22:02:43 +0000rjabarahttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/?p=32070If you ventured to Merriam to see its nascent IKEA store, you’ve gotten a taste of furnishing-rabid hordes and the mega-store’s beguiling floor plans. Perhaps you felt grasped by the need for a low-price ARKELSTORP or POÄNG. I was convinced to brave the lines to see this phenomenon, and from my visit I concluded two things: one, IKEA is pretty creepy; and two, I can’t afford to not upgrade with a new set of ÅFJÄRDEN.

I’m not the only one to be spooked. Grady Hendrix, author of Yeti vs Bear and Asian film blog Kaiju Shakedown, brings the theme to its apex with Horrorstör, an archetypal haunted-house story set in an after-hours IKEA. In a recent interview, Hendrix explained his vision: “Everyone who’s shopped at Ikea knows that they’re designed to get you lost, just like a haunted house. From “The Shining” Overlook Hotel to the Minotaur’s labyrinth, horror happens when you enter a place you might never leave. Ikea just happens to offer low, low prices and plenty of Tickar dinnerware as it lures you deeper and deeper, away from the sunlight.”

The book itself is designed to ape a typical IKEA furniture catalog. The retailer is renamed ORSK in the novel for legal reasons, but the parallel is blatant. Horrorstör is laden with illustrations— at first innocent lounge fixtures. As the story develops, they become increasingly nefarious.

Horrorstör begins on a mundane weekday morning. Readers first meet Amy, a young woman fallen into a rut of disappointments. The will-sapping aura of retail work is immediately palatable as Amy finishes her coffee and begins her shift at ORSK. Strange things have been afoot: merchandise is being desecrated in the night, cryptic graffiti appears in the restrooms, and the text message “help me” mysteriously broadcasts to every employee’s phone. Assistant manager Basil— a zealous believer in the ORSK philosophy— has had enough. When he calls Amy into his office, she thinks she’s soon to be fired for her lackluster work ethic. Instead, Basil asks that she stay in the building through the night to catch whoever is damaging BROOKAs and KJERRINGs.

That night, after all the shoppers have gone home, Amy and few other colorful employees gather to begin their watch of the phantasmagorical store. And then things get really weird. This is not a mere Paranormal Activity-esque bump in the night story. The sinister presence within ORSK comes out swinging— think Evil Dead 2 level craziness, mixed with the ambiance of The Amityville Horror.

The book is best read in as few sittings as possible and preferably late at night. The plot unravels quickly, and the characters are likable, but realistically complex. Hendrix doesn’t present anything startlingly innovative in the plot— the book is mostly a skilled application of horror tropes. Each chapter is veined with commentary on big box retail culture and consumerism. The furniture catalog format and commitment to the theme makes it an incredibly cool book; fans of House of Leaves can finally enjoy another uniquely-packaged title with wall-warping hi-jinks.

Horrorstör is a great read and is perfect for Halloween— especially if you missed out on the new IKEA, or went, and hoped for something more hair-raising than several thousand hunks of chipboard.

UPDATE- A television adaption ofHorrorstör is in the works, per io9.com. Don’t worry— there’s plenty of time to pick up a copy and catch up on the ORSK mythos before it hits prime time.

-Eli, Readers Services

]]>http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/10/halloween-reads-horrorstor/feed/0Down with the OED (Yeah, You Know Me)http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/10/down-with-the-oed-yeah-you-know-me/
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2014/10/down-with-the-oed-yeah-you-know-me/#commentsFri, 17 Oct 2014 20:29:37 +0000Mollyhttp://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/?p=31910It takes a certain kind of nerd to want to read the dictionary, and there’s even a name for it: logophile, or lover of words. I’m always been interested in obscure words and how definitions of certain words have changed over time. I was the kind of kid who read the dictionary for fun. Really.

I’m not quite ambitious enough to undertake reading the entire Oxford English Dictionary, but I was intrigued enough by the idea to read Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pagesby Ammon Shea. In 26 chapters, Shea shares his experience reading every single word in the dictionary and documents the amusing words he discovers during the process. It was an interesting and entertaining read.

Of course language is political (one need only compare the way conservatives and liberals frame the same facts to understand that). Still, I had no idea that the establishment of an American English Dictionary — the Webster’s I had used in elementary school — had been such a part of early American history until my foray into the world of lexicography led me to The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster’s Obsession and the Creation of An American Cultureby Joshua C. Kendall.

These days, I find myself consulting dictionaries less and less, at least in the physical form of a bound book printed on paper. After all, my Kindle will tell me the definition of a word with the click of a button if I come across an unfamiliar term while reading. But for all the times I sighed and rolled my eyes when my father told me to “look it up” when I questioned him about the meaning of a word, I’ll always cherish the shiny red Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary he gave me as a child and the experience of thumbing through a dictionary in search of one word, only to discover another fascinating one in the process. And as I discovered, reading about dictionaries is an interesting experience in and of itself.